Track switch for toy railways



Jan. 25, 1944. s 2.340.042

TRACK SWITCH FOR TOY RAILWAYS Filed 001;. 28, I941 INVENTOR NOEL 1.. CASE ATTORNEYS Patented Jan. 25, 1944 TRACK SWITCH FOR TOY RAILWAYS Noel L. Case, Girard, Pa., assignor to Louis Marx 8; Company, Inc., tion of New York New York, N. Y., a corpora- Application October 28, 1941, Serial No. 416,811

Claims.

This invention relates to toy railroads, and more particularly to a track switch for the same.

The primary object of my invention is to generally improve track switches for toy railways. More particularly objects are to simplify and improve the movable part of the switch so as to dispense with the need for a conventional switch point; to simplify and improve the mechanism for operating the switch; and finally, to simplify and improve the construction of the switch rails per se, these preferably being formed of the same piece of sheet metal that is used for the base of the switch.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and such other more specific objects as will hereinafter appear, my invention consists in the track switch elements and their relation one to the other, as hereinafter are more particularly described in the specification, and sought to be defined in the claims.

This specification is accompanied by a drawing, inwhich:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a track switch embodying features of my invention;

Fig. 2 is a bottom view of the end portion of the switch;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the end portion of the switch showing the guard rail plate moved to a position. opposite that shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is an end elevation of the switch looking in the direction of the arrows 44- of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary section through the switch, taken approximately in the plane of the line 5--5 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 6 is a similar view but with the swiveled guard rail plate in opposite position, this section being taken approximately in the plane of the line 66 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary section drawn to enlarged scale, and taken approximately in the plane of the line 7-1 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary section drawn to en-' larged scale, and taken approximately in the plane of the line 88 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 9 is a section through the branched endof the switch, taken approximately in the plane of the line 9-9 oi Fig. 1; and

Fig. 10 is a perspective view of the operating handle, before it is applied to the base of the switch.

- Referring to the drawing, the switch comprises a base plate 12 which may be made of a single, relatively extensive piece of sheet metal. The

rails of the switch are preferably formed by pressing or channeling the sheet metal upward-1y,"

as is most clearly shown in Fig. 9. Ther are main-line rails M and H5, H3 and 28; The inner rails at a frog22 (Fig. 1) which is pressed upwardly from the sheet metal base}. The switch further, comprises'a main-line cross-rail 24 anda branchl-ine cross-rail 26. 22. The main-line cross-rail bridges the gap in the main-line rail across the branch-line rails,- and the branch-line cross-rail bridges the gap in the branch-line rail across the main-line rails. Appropriate space is left at the ends of the crossrails -24 and 25 for passage of the flanges of the wheels. As an added refinement and safety feature, stationary' guard rails 23- and; 36 may also be pressed upwardly from base i2, these being located opposite th frog A2 to guard cidental derailment at that point.

The rails are pressed or drawn upwardly from base l2 an amount adequate toaccommodate the wheel flanges, but it is not feasible to draw themupwardly to a height equalling that of the-ordinary track sections of conventional toy railroads. The edges of base i i are accordingly preferablyturned downwardly to form support flanges bring the rails to proper height; The lower'edges of these flanges may, if desired, be rolledor curled to prevent cutting or scratching by the sheet metal'edge; The end and side flanges arenum bered 32, 34 and 38 in Figs. 4 and 9, while the rolled or beaded edges are numbered 38 An adand branch-lin rails l6 and I8 are joined ditional fiange and rolled edge may, it desi-redbe provided at the edge 40 (Fig. 1)

a The movable part or the switchrails 42' mounted on plate 5a, and the latter is pivoted at 48 for movement toward either the outer an id of the main line, or the outer rail it? of thebranch line.- When the guard rail plate 53 is moved toward outer rail M, as shown in Figs. 3

and 8, the Wheelsof the toy car are guided along the main line by reason of the action of guani- 1; and 5, the wheels are guided onto the branch line, this being; caused by the action of guardrail 44 on theinsi-de of" the flange of the "left-hand wheel. The swiveled guard rails are preferably made long'enouglr so that they are moved to the ends or the cross-rails 24 and Z6. Thes ends" These converge toward frog against ac-- comprises guard and t' l which are pivoted at the com mon end-iii oi the switch by means-of an eyeletiil. The guard rails t2 and 44 are preferably formed in a simple manner by bending the edgesof a plate 5:? so that in effect the guardrails are are shaped to lie parallel to the adjacent outer rails and thus themselves act as an appreciable length of guard rail in continuation of the swivel ed guard rail.

In the specific structure here shown, the ends of the guard rails and the cross-rails actually overlap somewhat, and provision is made for that purpose. Thus,in Fig. 8, it will be seen that the lower side of guard rail 42 is cut away at 52 and is shaped to overlie the sloping end 54 of the cross-rail 26. The ends of guard rail 44 and cross-rail 24 are similarly matingly shaped to overlie one another. 7

The mechanism for moving the swiveled guard rails comprises a sheet metal handle 60 extending radially from and preferably formed integrally with a sheet metal hub portion 62. The hub portion has a plurality of lugs struck downwardly therefrom and located on the periphery of a circle (see Fig. These lugs are shown at 64 in Figs. 2 and 7, and pass through a mating circular hole 66 in base l2. The lugs are then turned outwardly, thus rotatably fastening the handle and hub to base l2. It will be seen from inspection of Figs. 1 and 3, that the hub 62 is incised radially inwardly at the lugs, or in other words, that the outer dimension of the hub is larger than the circular hole 66 in the base, so that the hub overlies the base around the hole. The hub 62 has a small crank hole punched therethrough at a point offset from thecenter of the hub. The eccentricity must, of course, be less than the radius of the relatively large circular hole 66 in the base. A stiff wire link 68 extends beneath base l2 and is turned upwardly to pass through a hole in guard rail plate 50, and through the crank hole in hub 62, The upwardly projectingtips of the wire 68 may be pinched or flattened, as is indicated at 10, thus anchoring the wir to the plate 50 and hub 62. It will be understood that the base 12 is slotted, as is indicated at 12 in Fig. 2, to accommodate the movement of link 68. It will be evident from comparison of Figs. 1 and 3, that by swinging the handle 60 from the position shown in Fig. 1 to the position shown in Fig. 3, the link 68 is moved downwardly as viewed in the drawing, thereby shifting the guardrail plate 50 from the switch position shown in Fig. l to that shown inFig. 3.

II'hehub ,62 may, if desired, be, provided with a stop finger l4 cooperating with stop abutments l6 struck upwardly from base l2. These abutments 1B, are preferably so located as, to afford ISO-degree rotation ofhandle 60, and the abut-. ments are so located relative to the crank hole that the latter will be in dead-center position whenv the handle is moved to one end or the,

other of its permitted rotation. The movement of the handle is outwardly, so that the handle may be operated without interfering with the rails of the switch. V

The ends of the rails may be curled about connecting pins 88 at one end of the switch, and curled to form hollow sockets 82 (Fig. 9) atthe other end of the switch, these sockets being dimensioned to frictionally receive similar connecting pins on other track sections. The arrangementof connecting pins may, of course,

regular trackage of the particular toy railroad be "varied, depending on the scheme used for the formed out of a single piece of sheet metal and including a fiat hub portion incised radially inwardly to form a plurality of downwardly struck lugs located on the periphery of a circle, smaller than the hub portion said lugs being received in a mating circular aperture in the base and being bent outwardly beneath the base to rotatably fasten the handle on the base against either downward or upward movement, a stop finger on said hub portion cooperating with stop abutments struck from said base, and a wire link disposed beneath the base between the movable part of the switch and a crank hole in the hub offset from the center of the hub, whereby rotation of the handle between the stop abutments moves the link and movable switch part to one switch position or the other.

2. Operating mechanism for a toy railway track switch having a base and a movable switch part, said operating mechanism comprising a handle formed out of a single piece of sheet metal and including a flat hub portion incised radially inwardly to form a plurality of downwardly struck lugs located on the periphery of a circle smaller than the hub portion, said lugs being received in a mating circular aperture in the base and being bent outwardly beneath the base to rotatably fasten the handle on the base against either downward or upward movement, stop means on said hub portion cooperating with stop means struck from said base, and a wire link disposed beneath the base between the movable part of the switch and a crank hole in the hub offset from the center of the hub, whereby rotation of the handle between the stop means moves the link and movable switch part to one switch position or the other, the stop means being so located as to permit rotation through with the crank hole ofiset in the direction of the link at the ends of the permitted movement, so that the switch is locked by the dead center positions of the handle.

3. A toy railway switch comprising a relatively:

extensive sheet metal base having downwardly turned flanges, said base being upwardly pressed to form main-line rails, branch-line rails, a switch frog, a main-line cross-rail and a branchline cross-rail converging toward the switch frog, the main-line cross-rail bridging the gap in the main-line rail across the branch-line rails, and the branch-line cross-rail bridging the gap in the branch-line rail across the main-line rails, stationary main-line and branch-line guards opposite the frog of the switch, anda swiveled guard rail plate consisting of a piece of sheet metal having guard rails bent upwardly therefrom, said plate being located and swiveled at the common end of the switch, its inner end being movable toward the outer branch-line rail to the end of the main-line cross-rail orbeing oppositely movable toward the outer main-line.

rail to the end of the branch-line cross-rail, a.

switch-operating handle formed out of a single piece of sheet metal and including a flat hub per-- tion incised radially inwardly to form a plurality of downwardly struck lugs formed on the periphery of a circle smaller than the hub portion, said lugs being received in a mating circular aperture formed in the base in the region alongside the common end of the switch, said lugs being bent outwardly beneath the base to rotatably mount the handle on the base against either downward or upward movement, a stop finger on said hub portion cooperating with stop abutments struck upwardly from the base, and a wire link disposed beneath the base between the swiveled guard rail plate and a crank hole in the hub oiTset from the center of the hub, whereby rotation 01- the handle between the stop abutments moves the 'link and the swiveled guard rai1 plate to one switch position or the other.

4. A toy railway switch comprising a sheet metal base, main-line rails, branch-line rails, a main-line cross-rail, a branch-line cross-rail, the main-line cross-rai1 bridging the gap in the main-line rail across the branch-line rails, and the branch-line cross-rail bridging the gap in the branch-line rail across the main-line rails, and a swiveled guard rail plate having guard rails, said plate being located and swiveled at the common end of the switch, its inner end being movable toward the outer branch-line rail to the end of the main-line cross-rail or being oppositely movable toward the outer main-line rail to the end of the branch-line cross-rai1, a switch-operating handle formed out of a single piece of sheet metal and including a flat hub portion incised radially inwardly to form a plurality of downwardly struck lugs located on the periphery of a circle smaller than the hub portion, said lugs being received in a mating cir cular aperture in the base, said lugs being bent outwardly beneath the base to rotatably fasten the handle on the base against either downward or upward movement, stop means on said hub portion cooperating with stop means on said base, and a wire link disposed beneath the base between the swiveled guard rail plate and a crank hole in the hub ofiset from the center of the hub, whereby rotation of the handle moves the link and the swiveled guard rail plate to one switch position or the other, the stop means being so located as to permit rotation through 180, with the crank hole oifset in the direction of the link at the ends of the permitted movement, so that the switch is locked by the dead center positions of the handle.

5. A toy railway switch comprising a relatively extensive sheet metal base having downwardly turned flanges, said base being upwardly pressed to form main-line rails, branch-line rails, a switch frog, a main-line cross-rail and a branchline cross-rail converging toward the switch frog, the main-line cross-rail bridging the gap in the main-line rail across the branch-line rails, and the branch-line cross-rail bridging the gap in the branch-line rai1 across the main-line rails and a swiveled guard rail plate consisting of a piece of sheet metal having guard rails bent upwardly therefrom, said plate being located and swiveled at the common end of the switch, its inner end being movable toward the outer branch-line rail to the end of the main-line cross-rail or being oppositely movable toward the outer main-line rai1 to the end of the branch-line cross-rail, a switch-operating handle formed out of a single piece of sheet metal and including a flat hub portion incised radially inwardly to form a plurality of downwardly struck lugs located on the periphery of a circle smaller than the hub portion, said lugs being received in a mating circular aperture in the base, said lugs being bent outwardly beneath the base to rotatably fasten the handle on the base against either downward or upward movement, stop means on said hub portion cooperating with stop means on said base, and a wire link disposed beneath the base between the swiveled guard rail plate and a crank hole in the hub onset from the center of the hub, whereby rotation of the handle moves the link and the swiveled guard rail plate to one switch position or the other, the stop means being so located as to permit rotation through 180, with the crank hole offset in the direction of the link at the ends of the permitted movement, so that the switch is locked by the dead center positions of the handle.

NOEL L. CASE. 

